Monday, October 24

Standard run from Chili Bar. The season is pretty much over so the parking lot & put-in at Chili Bar was closed, meaning that we had to park in the upper lot and walk down which isn't a big deal. Seemed boney even at 1500cfs.

Maya had a great surf wave going as did First Threat, so I got some good surf time. By 3pm or so the water was dropping quite quickly so by the time we hit Troublemaker it was even bonier. The eddy was moving and a bit harder to catch than normal, especially for novice to intermediate paddlers. The tongue you need to catch out of the eddy was very small and right next to the big munchy hole in the middle of the rapid so was a little sketchy. The ferry over to the right of Gunsight was also tricky and probably preferable compared to going over Gunsight at this flow. Some folks in the group just avoided the eddy and came straight down left of center to the right of the hole then off to river right completely avoiding Gunsight altogether. Probably my line the next time at that flow.

Wednesday, October 19

Trip Report: Feather (North Fork - 1200/1300cfs) - Oct 15/16, 2005

We headed back up to the Feather for the scheduled October release to run the Cresta section again and to run the Lower Tobin (Lobin?) section, which was my first time. You can also read the trip report for the September release.

We stayed at the Tobin Resort in their "Dorm". It is basically a long cabin with three bedrooms (collectively 5 singles plus a double) and a shower/toilet. Since it rained this was better than camping outside but it was very basic, but we didn't need much of anything else anyway. Breakfast at the Tobin Resort started at 8am and wasn't bad at all. There's not much up there to buy, so don't forget to bring everything you'll think you need to eat/drink.

Day 1

We managed to run the Cresta section twice on Saturday, which was great. Our first run was delayed by a wrapped IK at County Line rapid requiring rescue. We got rained on, but not a big deal.

Beginning of the Cresta run

View from the Feather River

At the beginning of the second run Mike & Brian decided to do the V- right below the Cresta dam. I had the extreme privilege of scrambling across the rocks in the rain to take video & run safety. In my humble opinion, the put-in is a major nightmare since you not only have the already nightmarish drop down into the canyon but then you have to climb over the boulders to get to the top of the Class V rapid, don't believe me? Check it out for yourself: